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Yemen's President Agrees to Power Transfer

   VOA News  April 11, 2011
   Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a rally of supporters in
   Sana'a, April 8, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a rally of supporters in
   Sana'a, April 8, 2011

   Yemen's president has welcomed a proposal by the Gulf Cooperation
   Council that he transfer powers to his vice president, saying he is
   prepared to hand over power "peacefully within the framework of the
   constitution."
   The six-nation GCC did not specify a time frame for the power transfer,
   however, and the statement from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on
   Monday appears to indicate that he agrees to transfer power after the
   next elections in 2013.
   Yemen's opposition on Monday rejected the initiative proposed by the
   foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and
   Bahrain.
   Protesters have called for an immediate end to Saleh's 32-year rule and
   do not accept the GCC proposal's protections from prosecution for the
   president and his family.
   President Saleh has previously offered to resign, but only after new
   elections are held.
   Clashes between Yemeni security forces and opposition activists have
   killed more than 100 people since the protests began.
   Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in Yemen's
   capital, Sana'a, Sunday, as the GCC met to review its mediation
   efforts.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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